Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dream A Little Dream ❯ Nightmares ( Chapter 1 )

 

 

Dream a Little Dream - part 1: Nightmares

By Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

 

PAIRING: Vegeta/Bulma
WARNINGS: Angst, death, some blood, slight OOCness (due to the angst)
DISCLAIMER: These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation. None of these characters are mine (or Shawna's), but if they ever come up for grabs, I get first dibs! Well, except for the demon, she was completely my invention!
NOTES: Ok, a little explanation. This was one of the first pieces we ever wrote, and had been part of an RPG we had been in. We originally had no intention of ever finishing it, but eventually we decided to anyway. Because of... personal differences with some of the other players, I used a scene that had been written entirely by the two of us, and we converted it into a fanfic. Yes, it's confusing at points, but it's supposed to be. You'll understand it when you get to the end of this part. At least most of it, but the rest of it should make sense by the end of the second part. There are two parts to this piece, but I still have to re-edit the second part. This is the first piece the two of us ever wrote together. I finally went through and tightened this up to make it something I feel comfortable posting. This is very different from most of what we've written together, but I hope you still like it. :-)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: TwoMoons for her beta.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"You shouldn't have called your man on me, Bulma," the demon sneered. "SOUL... SHATTER!!" it screamed, and all the energy in its staff seemed to explode in all directions, causing the house to shake, and for a split second, no one, even the demon itself, could have cast a spell or spoken a curse to save his soul.

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

The first thing Vegeta was aware of when he came to was a pounding headache. "What happened?" he muttered aloud as he stood up. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the remains of Capsule Corporation. "What the..."

 

He glanced around in confusion. The house and surrounding building were in shambles. He didn't think that the ki blasts he had aimed at the demon had been powerful enough to do this kind of damage.

 

He stepped forward, looking for the demon. //I'll splatter it all over the country side when I find it.// He wanted to get even with it for calling him 'Bulma's man'. The phrase implied ownership. No one owned him. Or Bulma for that matter, he groused to himself, as he stepped over various debris.

 

As he stepped over a fairly large sized boulder, he felt his foot connect with something soft. He stepped back automatically and look down to see what it was.

 

A hand - a very delicately boned hand - was sticking out from a large piece of rock. Normally something like this wouldn't bother the warrior, but there was something very familiar about the shape of this hand.

 

Then it struck him. It was Bulma's hand.

 

Bulma was buried under the rock.

 

Bulma was trapped under several hundred pounds of rock.

 

The realization made something snap inside Vegeta, and he sprang into action.

 

"NO!!!!!" the Saiyan Prince shouted at the top of his lungs as he heaved the large boulder off of her. She was lying on her back, one hand thrown over her head, blood seeping from numerous gashes. From the position of her legs, he could tell both legs were definitely broken.

 

//If she is even alive,// came the unbidden thought. //No human could have possibly lived through that.//

 

Something in his stomach clenched at the thought, and he shook his head as if to clear it. //NO!// he thought to himself in denial of what was painfully obvious. //No, she is NOT dead.//

 

He knelt down next to her and felt for a pulse. "Oh Bulma, please.... don't be dead," he whispered. She wasn't breathing, and he felt no pulse.

 

"NO!" he screamed in anguish. He pulled her lifeless body into his arms and buried his face against her shoulder. "NO!!!" he repeated over and over, his voice laced with the agony he felt. "Don't do this to me."

 

Until that moment, Vegeta hadn't realized how much this human woman had come to mean to him. She was the only one who understood him. She had taken him in, dared to argue with him, wasn't intimidated by him even though she knew he could snap her like a twig. She was not afraid of him.

 

He didn't realize he was weeping in his despair and grief. He had never felt such loss, such desolation, such helplessness. He didn't even know that he could feel with this kind of intensity.

 

"Kami, don't die on me," he whispered hoarsely, as his tears ran down his face. "I love you, Bulma-chan. Please don't leave me," he begged her lifeless form.

 

"Please don't leave me."

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Bulma felt pain sear through her mind and body, and thought for a brief moment she was dying. She heard a scream, a long drawn out sound that lasted forever, lasting until the end of the universe. Then she realized it was her own scream, torn from her throat by the burning pain. She passed out, wondering if she was dying, thinking death might be a release.

 

When she woke again, there was an odd sound, and it took her a moment to realize it was the sound of her own ragged breathing. There was no other sound. The silence was so intense it was almost painful. She opened her eyes to the shattered remains of her own home, Capsule Corporation.

 

She walked to the buildings, trying to find some signs of life. There was no indication anyone was there, that anyone had even been there in years. She looked around and realized there weren't even any animals or any plants. Somehow the buildings themselves must have been transported somewhere else, perhaps to some otherworldly dimension.

 

She frowned, a memory tickling the back of her mind, as she walked over to a large boulder and sat down, contemplating the ruins. How had she gotten here? How had her home gotten here?

 

The memory tickled her again, as she recognized the surrounding countryside finally, despite being denuded of life. She suddenly realized her home hadn't been transported after all. This was her home, but somehow all life had been leeched clean.

 

She sucked in a breath, looking around. ::Son Goku?:: she wondered, panicking. ::Where is Son Goku? Where are my parents? Why didn't he stop whatever caused this?::

 

She ran, as fast as she could, to the Son house, her lungs burning by the time she got there. She stared at the clearing where the house should have been. The well was there, as were the firepits, but the house itself was gone. Almost as though it had never stood there. There was no sign of life here, either. No plants, no animals....

 

Bulma collapsed to her knees on the ground, weeping. Where was everyone? Was she alone? She felt bereft, and a cold chill passed through her. She was alone, as she had been alone all of her life. Even when people were around her she had been alone, so alone....

 

She pounded her fists on the ground and wept, feeling her heart breaking.

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Vegeta had no idea how long he knelt like that, holding Bulma's limp form against his, willing his mate to live. His head snapped up at the word 'mate'. He hadn't realized it before, but the warrior had considered Bulma his wife.

 

Vegeta frowned, then looked back down at Bulma's body, and tears started anew. //Why now?// Vegeta wondered. //Why do I realize this now?// Pain and an utter sense of loss filled his heart. He sat there for a few more moments as he allowed himself for the first time in years to feel, really feel.

 

//Sitting here bawling like a baby is not going to help me.// His free hand brushed strands of hair away from her face, and he bent his head to place a soft kiss on her cooling forehead.

 

"I should have told you," he whispered to her silent form. "I should have told you how much you mean to me. Would it please you to know you have done this to the strongest soldier in the universe?"

 

He knew he wasn't going to get a reply, but talking out loud was calming him, making him realize he could bring Bulma back.

 

Vegeta carried Bulma over to a clearing and set her down gently. He knelt down to wipe the blood off of her face, and arranged her limbs so it gave the illusion that Bulma was only having a nap under a tree and was still alive. Vegeta felt an odd sense of calmness as he pressed one more kiss to her forehead, and then stood in a single, smooth motion.

 

He knew what he had to do. He had to find the dragonballs and bring Bulma back to life again. //And I have to get even with a certain demon.// His lip pulled into his familiar sneer, and a animal-like growl escaped his throat. //I'll kill it.// He realized that nothing less than the demon's death would appease his anger. //I'll rip out your insides while you are still alive. I'll crush your limbs, a slow death will be most suitable for you.// A satisfied smile spread its way across the prince's lips. //For killing my mate, you demon, you will suffer, and I will so enjoy your screams.//

 

A cruel laugh escaped Vegeta's lips, as he clenched his fist in fury. His tail flicked behind him for a moment before wrapping around his waist. //I'm coming, demon,// he thought, as he started out across what remained of Capsule Corporation. //And I will not be defeated.//

 

The Saiyan warrior didn't have to go far before he encountered a figure he had thought he would never see again. Black eyes so like his own glared back at him. The disgust apparent on the older man's bearded visage made Vegeta feel like an eight-year-old again seeking his father's approval.

 

"So there you are, brat," the older man growled at him. "I should have known you would end up on this miserable excuse for a planet."

 

Vegeta scowled back, hiding his confusion at seeing his father. "What are you doing here, old man?" he snapped back. "You are dead."

 

"Not so dead I can't see what a weakling you have become." The elder Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and sneered at his son. "You let a third class warrior beat you? A tailless, nameless nobody beat the Heir to the throne of Vegeta-sei. How pathetic."

 

Vegeta's fists clenched at his sides. His stomach muscles tightened in anguish. How could he ever have wanted this man's approval? But even now, after all these years, Vegeta sensed within himself a desire for his father's approval. He had wanted to make him proud. //What have I been thinking? This man is not a parent.//

 

"And then you have to disgrace yourself further by getting involved with a human female." Vegeta's head snapped up at the mention of Bulma. "You actually admitted feelings for her?" Vegeta's father laughed bitterly. "My son is a weakling and a coward."

 

"You are wrong, old man." He glared at his father, his whole body shaking with the rage he felt. "I am not a weakling or a coward. I will deal with Kakarotto when the time comes. As for Bulma..." Vegeta's eyes narrowed on his father. "She is NOT your concern.

 

"No? Have you considered the consequences of what you are doing? What if she gets pregnant? Then your offspring will be a genetic nightmare." The older Vegeta shook his head in distaste. "I should have killed you when you were born. You are a disgrace to the House of Vegeta-sei. You are my biggest disappointment."

 

Vegeta's eyebrows pulled together in his familiar frown. "No, father." Vegeta spat the word. "You are the disappointment."

 

The elder Vegeta laughed as his image began to vanish. "You are nothing, Vegeta, and will never be anything. Do you think your human female will want you? After all you have done?"

 

Vegeta could still hear his father's cruel laughter as he faded away. Vegeta howled as he dropped to his knees in denial. "You are wrong, old man! I will prove it!"

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Bulma stared down at the tableau below her, wondering how she had gotten here. Where was she? Why was she flying in the air, with her friends down below? She wanted to be closer to them to see what was happening, and suddenly she found herself hovering right above them.

 

::I'm flying? How am I flying?:: she wondered to herself.

 

She saw Goku down below, along with Vegeta, Yamcha and Krillin. They were bending over something she couldn't see because they were obstructing her vision. She thought it was odd that none of them noticed her hovering over them.

 

She landed lightly behind Goku and touched his shoulder to show him she had been flying, and stopped in shock when her hand passed through him. She tried to speak, and discovered she had no voice to speak with. ::Goku?:: she called out to her friend mentally, but of course he didn't hear.

 

She saw Vegeta standing next to them, his usual scowl plastered to his face, and felt a wave of relief. ::Vegeta, what's going on?:: she sent telepathically to him. She had always been able to speak to him this way, ever since he had moved in with her. She was surprised when she got no answer from him at all, not even the echo of his thoughts came back to her. It was as if he weren't there... or she wasn't there.

 

She started to panic, her heart beating wildly in her fear. ::My heart is beating, I must be here, right? Why can't they see me? Why can't they hear me?::

 

Then she heard Yamcha laugh and he and Krillin moved aside, allowing her a view of what they were looking at. Her heart skipped a beat and she completely forgot to breathe. She thought she was going to pass out from the sight.

 

She was looking down at herself, sprawled upon the ground. Her head was crushed in by what appeared to be a large piece of debris. It must have struck her when her friends were sparring in the yard.

 

She choked, staring down at her own body. ::Am I dead, then? Am I a ghost?::

 

She looked at her friends, tears streaming down her face, choking her throat. And then she almost passed out from shock.

 

Her friends were laughing.

 

Goku stood there with a hand behind his head, a puzzled look on his face. "Well, she really should have been more careful," he was saying earnestly.

 

"Yeah," Krillin agreed. "She was always getting in the way. And then yelling at us when she'd get hurt. Especially me!"

 

"No kidding." Yamcha nodded at the smaller man. "Man, am I glad to be rid of her at last. She was always screeching and yelling at me, too. I'm just as glad she's not going to yell at me every time I look at another woman now."

 

Vegeta gave a short bark of laughter, and then an evil smirk settled on his features. "She was weak. Good riddance!"

 

Yamcha looked surprised. "I thought you liked her!" he exclaimed.

 

Vegeta sneered at him. "No way! I was just keeping her happy so she would keep working on my gravity room when I needed it."

 

Bulma wanted to faint. He couldn't really mean that, could he? He was just using her the whole time? Then Vegeta leaned forward and spoke in a softer voice, saying something quite crude about her to the other men. Bulma shook with pain and embarrassment at his words. ::Does he really think that of me?::

 

His smirk widened and he sauntered toward the house. "Well, at least I don't have to be so secretive anymore! Woman! Get out here!" he shouted toward the house.

 

Mrs. Briefs walked out of the kitchen door, her eyes lighting up when she saw Vegeta. "Vegeta-chan!" she called out. "What is it?"

 

"Oh, just the removal of some useless baggage," he replied, indicating Bulma's body.

 

Bulma held her breath. Surely her mother would berate them for treating her this way. But instead her mother just looked at her body sadly and shook her head. "I always told her she'd get into trouble, always doing things her own way. Oh well, at least we don't have to worry about her finding out the truth anymore, do we?"

 

And with that she wrapped her arms around Vegeta's neck and gave him a passionate kiss.

 

Something in Bulma's mind snapped. ::NOOOOO!!!:: she cried out soundlessly, and then everything went black.

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

It took Vegeta several long minutes to get hold of his emotions. He wasn't a failure. Bulma did want him. Why else would she put up with him if she didn't want him? Why would she have invited him to stay if she didn't feel something for him?

 

He needed to prove it, and the only way he knew to do so was to find the dragonballs and bring her back. But what if she didn't want him and wanted Yamcha instead? His fingers clawed into the ground at his sides, refusing to accept it.

 

But first he had something else to deal with, that demon...

 

He got gracefully to his feet and clenched his fists. He needed to focus if he wanted to beat it, and the way his emotions were now he would be defeated again. Vegeta took a deep breath to clear his thoughts; a smile slowly spread its way across his face as he headed out across the ruins of Capsule Corporation.

 

A figure suddenly materialized in front of him, startling the Saiyan warrior nearly out of his wits. His jaw dropped when he figured out who was standing in front of him.

 

"Kakarotto?" Vegeta managed to get his emotions under control, and he snarled at the other man. "What are you doing here?"

 

"Oh, I came to give you a hand." Goku gave Vegeta a friendly smile, and placed a hand behind his head. "That demon will be difficult to deal with."

 

"I don't need your help, Kakarotto," Vegeta growled. "I can handle it."

 

"Sure, Vegeta. Whatever you say. I mean, you did everything you could to prevent this, right?"

 

Vegeta's eyes narrowed, thick brows pulling together into a frown. "What are you talking about?"

 

"Well, you were the one who blasted the demon and made it destroy everything and kill Bulma." Goku shrugged his shoulders. "It's not a big deal that you messed up again. Underestimating your opponent like you did with Frieza."

 

Vegeta's lips pulled up into a snarl. How dare he? How dare that third class low-life insult his Prince?

 

"Careful, Kakarotto," he warned. "You don't want to end up dead."

 

Goku had the audacity to laugh. "Oh, sure, come off it, Vegeta. You know you can't beat me, and I am a third class Saiyan. How are you going to beat that demon without my help?"

 

Vegeta turned and stalked away. He heard the crunch of stones behind him and whirled to see the tall man following him. "Just what do you think you are doing?"

 

"Coming with you. After all, I can't trust you to beat that demon, and if you die I have to fight it anyway...."

 

"SHUT UP, KAKAROTTO!" Vegeta shouted.

 

Goku just smiled at the prince. "Sure, I'll stay out of your way."

 

Vegeta ground his teeth together and headed back over the debris, wondering a bit impatiently where the demon was so he could tear it limb from limb.

 

//Then you're next, Kakarotto. You're next.//

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

She was alone. Everyone was gone, and she was alone. As always.

 

She sighed as she sat in the darkening room, sensing if not seeing the sun setting outside. There was nothing for her to do any longer. Her son had grown up, her friends had all moved on to other things, and Vegeta had left her long ago.

 

Vegeta. Even the brush of his name in her thoughts brought her pain. He had left her so long ago, when it became obvious that he wasn't going to age like she was. He had tired of being with an old woman - a weak human woman, as he had always mocked her.

 

She thought of him, the old heartbreak still as fresh and painful as it had been the day he had walked out on her. She had learned to live with it, but she had never really gotten over it.

 

She stood up as the house darkened, and walked slowly to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. She always walked slowly these days; she couldn't move fast anymore, not with her arthritis.

 

She moved stiffly to the teapot, sighing when she realized it would take a while for the water to heat up again. She liked her old-fashioned teapot, even though she knew there were faster ways to heat water.

 

She sat down gingerly at the kitchen table, waiting for the water to boil, and thought about her life. She didn't like reminiscing about the past, but there wasn't much in her present for her to think about. And her future seemed even emptier. No one ever visited, and she had no one to visit anymore. Chi-chi and Son Goku had moved away long ago, and were busy with their grandchildren. She had never had a chance to have grandchildren, or at least never to see them. Her son had left with his father, training to be a 'great Saiyan warrior' like him. She had lost him long before he had physically left, because he had never really wanted to be there. She didn't even know if he had ever married or if he had any children. If he was anything like his father, he probably didn't want any long-term commitments, not with a weak human female.

 

She sighed in resignation. There was no use mooning about it anymore. It was the past, and one must look forward.... She considered that. Look forward to what? The future? More loneliness like she had now? Even her company, the Hoi Poi Capsule Corporation, had passed into other hands.

 

She sighed again, her breath shuddering, and she realized she was on the verge of tears. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. But what did it matter if she cried? There was no one there to see her, no one to judge her and call her weak for doing so, no one to mock her pain.

 

She lay her head on her arms, holding back the tears more from habit than anything else. It was the whistle of the teakettle that attracted her attention before she gave in to the tears.

 

She got up slowly again, her muscles almost creaking with the effort. She winced. It was getting painful to move around any longer. She was on medication for it, but it had gotten so much worse lately. She wasn't sure how much longer she could live here, if she couldn't do things for herself anymore.

 

It was the shaking of the teakettle in her hand when she lifted it that clued her off. She stared at it for a moment, wondering why it was shaking like that, and then she realized her hands were trembling uncontrollably. She tried to walk to the table to put it down and found she couldn't move. Her vision seemed to narrow into a small field, focusing on the teakettle and her hands, and she felt a squeezing against her heart.

 

::No! This can't be happening!:: she thought wildly. ::I've never had any heart problems, I'm fine! This can't be happening to me!::

 

She tried to take a step forward, but her feet and legs were caught in molasses. Her vision continued to narrow. There wasn't blackness around it, just... nothing. She tried to take another step forward, and the floor came up on her very fast.

 

::I just wish I'd had a chance to say goodbye to Vegeta, to say goodbye to my son,:: were her last thoughts before it all went dark.

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Vegeta found himself alone once more. He looked off into the distance and scowled, trying to remember what he had been doing here. The past few minutes were a blur to him.

 

He surveyed his surroundings with a frown. Capsule Corporation was demolished; the surrounding countryside looked like it had been hit with heavy artillery. Only he couldn't remember what had happened to it. And for some reason his chest hurt.

 

"What is going on here?" he said aloud. His voice echoed, reminding the warrior how alone he actually was. //Where is everyone?//

 

The warrior couldn't sense any ki on the planet. Nothing. There wasn't a flicker of energy anywhere. Not even animals.

 

Vegeta frowned again. //No. I can't be the only living thing on this planet.//

 

It wasn't possible was it? How could he be the only living being left?

 

He took to the air, determined to find other signs of life. He crisscrossed the globe seven times before he finally realized that he was indeed the only thing left alive.

 

//No.// Vegeta shook his head to clear it. The Saiyan warrior headed back to Capsule Corp wondering what had happened to everyone.

 

//I am alone.//

 

Vegeta looked out at the remains of the buildings and felt something foreign to him. Fear.

 

Vegeta was afraid.

 

It chilled him to think he was the only living thing in the world. //Bulma?// He clenched his fist and stared at it, not really seeing it. //What happened to you?//

 

The thought that he would never hear her voice again made him realize how lonely he would be. There would be no Kakarotto to challenge. No Yamcha or Krillin to terrorize. There would be only him and the interminable silence.

 

The silence was what bothered him the most. No one was talking, no birds were singing, no water was flowing. It was completely silent. The only thing he could hear was his own breathing.

 

//I don't want to be alone,// he thought, as he sat down on a large boulder. //Anything but that. Please don't let me be alone.//

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Bulma woke, every muscle in her body aching with pain. She opened her eyes to see the curtains fluttering gently over her bed.

 

Curtains? Bed? She was alive?

 

She gasped in relief, realizing it had all been a dream. A dream! The whole thing must have just been a nightmare. She wondered if any of it had been real, and then shook her head. Probably none of it. Not her death, not the emptiness of everyone being gone, not the demon, none of it.

 

It had just been a dream, a horrible nightmare.

 

She sighed wearily, wondering why she still felt tired. Maybe she should go back to bed again....

 

She shuddered at the thought of having another nightmare, and decided it was time to get out of bed. She was alive! She wanted to shout with relief. She hurried through her morning toiletries, for once not spending over an hour getting ready. She ran downstairs and into the kitchen and saw her mother washing the breakfast dishes. She blinked when she noticed nothing remaining on the table except for dirty dishes.

 

"What's for breakfast, mother?" she asked, wondering where all the food had gone.

 

Mrs. Briefs finally turned and looked at her daughter, blinking at her unfocusedly. "Oh, we've already eaten, Bulma."

 

"Um...." Bulma blinked in confusion. "Isn't there anything left?"

 

"Oh no. We were very hungry. Especially Vegeta-chan." There was a dreamy look in her eyes as she said the Saiyan Prince's name.

 

Bulma's heart almost stopped. Vegeta-chan? A vague sense of foreboding - like maybe the prior dream hadn't really been a dream - started to nag at her. "You didn't save anything for me?"

 

Mrs. Briefs finally focused on the younger woman, and she frowned in confusion. "Of course not. Why should we save anything for you? You can make something for yourself if you want it. We weren't going to wait for you." She shrugged. "It's not as if you're useful for anything, anyway."

 

Bulma felt like she had been punched in the stomach, and she nodded slowly and absently at her mother, then walked out the kitchen door to the yard in a zombie-like trance. She saw Goku and Vegeta sparring above the house. Krillin and Yamcha were lounging on the patio, watching the two Saiyans, and she couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe they could help her make some sense of what was going on here.

 

She waved at them and called out to them, but when they turned scornful and indifferent expressions toward her, her smile faded. ::What's going on here?:: she wondered desperately.

 

"Yamcha?" She looked at him, and continued tentatively despite his derisive look. "Do you know what's going on with my mother? Why is she acting so strange?"

 

"Strange? How?" Yamcha frowned at her.

 

"Well...." Bulma trailed off, not really sure how to explain it. "She's acting like she's upset with me or something."

 

Yamcha laughed mockingly, an odd sound coming from his handsome throat. "Bulma, you're going to have to stop believing that the universe revolves around you." He stopped laughing and looked at her contemptuously. "It doesn't, you know. You're not even all that important to us. How many times have we saved the world? All you've ever done is get in the way and make trouble for us so we have to rescue you. And yell at us when you think we've done something wrong. I haven't seen you out there risking your life to save the world, and yet you think you're so important and that you can boss us around!"

 

"That's right!" Krillin chimed in, agreeing with the taller warrior. "You're always getting mad and hitting me for no reason, and how many times have I saved your life?"

 

Bulma choked, gasping for breath, trying to come to terms with what she was hearing. "But I've... I've helped gather the dragonballs to save both of you before! I've always helped you gather the dragonballs!"

 

She didn't notice the two Saiyans land nearby, having overheard the exchange, until Goku spoke up. "That's right, Bulma. You're the one with the dragonradars. That's why we've never said anything to you before. But even when I was little you took advantage of me for the dragonballs. You used me to protect you, and you were going to betray me, weren't you? You didn't care about me back then. You've never really cared about anyone." He spoke with the sincerity and honesty he always used, and she stared at him, numb with shock.

 

"Goku?" she asked questioningly. "But I... I cared about you! I did!"

 

He shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, you didn't. You didn't tell me that when we would call the dragons to get the wish that I would lose my dragonball. You just wanted to get your wish, and you had me tag along behind you to protect you. You weren't very nice to me back then, but you always expected me to rescue you and then you'd yell at me!"

 

"But I... why didn't you say anything before?" Tears stung her eyes. "Why are you telling me this now?"

 

He continued to smile at her ingenuously. "Because you still had the dragonradars, and that was the only way we could gather the dragonballs. I had to save my friends if one of them got killed in a fight. They were actually doing something useful, after all! But we don't need you any more, because Guru and Dende can summon the dragonballs if we need them. So we don't need you anymore."

 

"Don't need...." Bulma choked, reaching for the rail to hold herself upright. She thought she was about to collapse. She looked at Vegeta, desperation in her gaze, hoping he would at least support her. "Vegeta, do you...?"

 

Vegeta gave a short bark of laughter and smirked evilly. "Give it up, woman. You're weak. You've always been weak. What did you think I could ever have seen in you? I was only using you because you could rebuild the gravity room if I needed it."

 

His eyes narrowed and he advanced on her, a cruel smile on his face. When his nose was practically touching hers, he spoke again, his tone merciless and derisive, a vicious gleam in his eyes. "You didn't really think I would care about someone as ugly and stupid as you, did you? I'm the Prince of Vegeta-sei; I wouldn't stick myself with a low-born, low-class, weak little nothing like you! You' re not even very good in bed!"

 

Yamcha tossed his head scornfully. "Why do you think I never touched you? Because I respected you? You know I've been with other women. I just never wanted to touch a woman as annoying and pathetic as you are! Vegeta's right; you're just ugly and stupid and irritating. You've been a thorn in my side practically since I've known you. I've wanted to break up with you for years, but didn't want to make you so mad at me that you wouldn't gather the dragonballs if I died!"

 

Vegeta's grin widened, and he grabbed her arm and twisted it viciously, driving her to the ground, to her knees. Tears filled her eyes, partly from the physical pain, but mostly from the emotional pain of what she was hearing.

 

"What, did you think I actually cared about you? I care about Kakarot more than I do you! At least he's a Saiyan, and one of my few remaining subjects, so he has some value to me. You, you're just a," he made a gesture and used a crude term that almost caused Bulma to faint.

 

She leaned forward on the palms of her hands, feeling nauseous, and wondered what she had done to deserve this. And then all of their voices came to her all at once, telling her about her failures, her weakness, her uselessness, and most of all the fact that none of them cared about her, that none of them had ever cared.

 

She pitched forward, weak with nausea and despair, as everything went black.

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Vegeta shivered from the cold in the room. Something had happened to the temperature gauge and it had never been fixed. There were quite a few things in the house that didn't work anymore. But no one fixed things like Bulma did.

 

Bulma. Vegeta's eyes shut at the pain of his memory. She had been dead for over fifty years now, but the pain of her loss was still as fresh as the day it had happened.

 

His Bulma.

 

They had never married but had only lived together for a short while. It had seemed to the prince that she had been satisfied with him, but when they had discovered he could not give her what she wanted, she had left and married Yamcha.

 

Vegeta laughed mirthlessly and ended up coughing up blood. He held his sides as the pain eased, and he sighed bitterly.

 

To think that Bulma had left him because he couldn't give her the only thing she had really wanted. Vegeta wasn't fertile. With all the things he was capable of, the fact that he couldn't get her pregnant still bothered the warrior. And the fact that she'd had seven children with Yamcha had driven the insult in even further.

 

Every time he saw one of Bulma's children - at least, either of the two who were still living - he was filled with a bitter regret. A sense of wrongness always overcame him. Somehow those brats should be his. He hadn't even realized he had wanted children until Bulma had discovered him incapable of doing that simplest of things.

 

"I swear, Vegeta, you are pathetic," she had told him with her hands on her hips. "You can destroy planets, but you can't give me a baby? What do you think? That I'll live forever?"

 

He had tried to talk her into staying with him. He had told her that he loved her. He had begged her to let him stay with her. But she had merely laughed and said he was less than a man, and had told him that since he couldn't give her what she wanted, then she would go find someone who could.

 

Two weeks later she had married Yamcha.

 

Yamcha. The name left a bitter taste in his mouth. Not only had the other man taken the woman he loved away from him, but he had beaten him in the world's martial arts tournament. Defeated him in front of millions of people, and Bulma had laughed. Laughed and told him she had known he was weak. She had walked away holding her third child, and he had lost the will to fight.

 

He still couldn't figure out how or when Yamcha had become more powerful than himself. After he had married Bulma Yamcha's power had tripled, rivaling Goku's. Two years after his disgrace, Yamcha's power surpassed Vegeta's younger rival. And for the life of him, Vegeta couldn't figure out how he had managed it.

 

Kakarotto. His oldest rival had died a year before, and now Vegeta had no one to talk to. //Not that it matters,// he thought bitterly. //I am dying anyway.//

 

He had cancer. Cancer, of all things. It was eating at him, stealing what was left of his power, and the only thing it gave him in return was pain. But it wasn't going to win. He wouldn't let it. Not after everything that had happened.

 

Vegeta swung his legs out of bed and stood on shaky legs. "You won't win," he told the empty air. He found himself suddenly getting angry. "You won't win," he repeated a little louder than before.

 

He had no idea to whom he was speaking, but he found himself getting even angrier. "You won't take my power, too."

 

Vegeta was surprised to feel the power flowing through him again. "Not this time." Vegeta felt himself getting stronger as he was getting angrier.

 

"NO! I will not die like this!" He shouted it this time. His hands were tightly clenched into fists, so tightly that his fingernails were drawing blood. "I will die like a warrior. I will convince Bulma she needs me."

 

The warrior was letting his emotions take over. The anger that washed over him was sharp and like nothing he could ever remember experiencing. His body felt warm, encased in a slow, golden glow.

 

"NO!!!!!!!" Vegeta screamed in anger. The Saiyan's breathing was ragged. "I won't let you."

 

He blinked in confusion when he found himself standing in the living room of Capsule Corp. Everything was where it should be, except that Bulma was lying the middle on the living room, unconscious.

 

"NO!" he repeated and knelt beside her. He lifted her into his arms and laid her gently on the couch, his memories flooding back. He had challenged that demon and it had blasted them with a beam. The beam had somehow caused all these nightmares. And if he experienced it, then Bulma was still in the midst of her dreams. He had to wake her before it was too late. Before the darkness overtook her and the demon's spell killed her.

 

"I won't let it," Vegeta whispered against her hair as he held her close. "I won't let this hurt you. I swear."

 

//Bulma listen to me. You need to wake up now. This is nothing but a bad dream.//

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

As Bulma slept, she dreamed. Memories filtered through her dreams, sparkling motes of light that drifted lazily down, fluttering past her heart, and she remembered....

 

~~~ TO BE CONTINUED ~~~